


Like Brother, Like Sister

by therealalex12



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Humanstuck, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, Therapy, Trans Dave Strider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-21 10:18:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11942049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealalex12/pseuds/therealalex12
Summary: After waking up from another nightmare, Dave goes to see his therapist, who just so happens to be his sister.





	Like Brother, Like Sister

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by some of my own experiences and battles with abuse and PTSD. Yes, there are some hints towards trans Dave in here, along with some other personal headcanons. I have a group chat on Instagram called the “I Hate Bro Strider Club”, if you want to join, feel free to dm me, I’m @therealalex120.

Dave stood on the roof, staring at the sunset. Crows flew across the sky and into the distance. Although everything was calm, things didn’t feel right. The view was different, there was an odd weight on his chest, and his hair was longer. There was a yell of “Think fast!” behind him. He quickly whipped around and used his arms to block his face. Bro was standing in front of him, pushing a katana into a crevice of scarred skin. Dave pushed back with all his might before he gave up and rolled around him. He got up and ran, but it didn’t last for long since the roof ended under his feet. He plummeted story after story towards the ground and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Dave was never religious, but for a moment he considered praying that is remains wouldn't be spread like strawberry jam across the pavement. Unexpectedly, the impact with the pavement never came; something broke his fall. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Lil Cal. Dave screamed, shoving it out of the way, but another one was there. He looked around, finding himself surrounded by the creepy puppet in hordes. When they started cackling. The endless noise filled his ears, growing louder until it reach a fever pitch. They were closing in on him from all angles, and when all seemed lost, everything went white.  
  
Dave woke up, his scream echoing through his quiet room as he shot out of bed. Cold sweat drenched his forehead and back. He placed his hand on his chest, which quickly rose and lowered with his breaths and seemed to slow as the minutes went by. Dave rolled over to look at his clock. The numbers read 4:13 in blocky, red lights. “Jesus fucking christ,” he muttered to himself as he got out of bed.  
  
He pushed himself out of bed, his legs still shaking from the nightmare. He slid the desk chair towards the table as he made his way to the computer. The computer lit up the dark room, casting a shadow of Dave’s figure onto the disheveled bed. He clicked on Pesterchum and stared out the window as he impatiently waited for it to load - the problems of having an older computer. Although it was still dark out, birds had already started to flit around each other and chirp on the phone pole outside. The familiar chimes of Pesterchum came from the speakers, and Dave turned his attention back to the screen and scrolled through his chumroll. He clicked on John's chumhandle, ectoBiologist, and started to pester him.

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 4:20 --

TG: hey  
TG: im probably waking you up but i got to chat about something  
EB: sure!  
EB: what is it  
TG: well a while ago once i moved out on my own i told you about bro  
TG: and what he did  
EB: oh yeah  
EB: nightmares again?  
TG: you know it  
TG: woke up in a cold sweat  
TG: fighting on the roof again  
TG; surrounded by puppets  
TG: it was pure fucking hell  
EB: oh man  
EB: i’m sorry  
TG: worst thing is that it was a flashback  
TG: if you know what i mean  
EB: oh yeah  
EB: that sucks  
EB: lemme think of what you can do  
TG: shoot man  
EB: hmmmmm  
EB: have you seen a therapist yet?  
EB: i think rose might be able to help  
TG: john you know how she is  
TG: always trying to psychoanalyze me  
TG: like im some sort of nut  
TG: besides she lives in new york  
EB: have you tried skyping her?  
EB: or seeing if she’s in town?  
TG: maybe  
TG: she sometimes sees clients if theyre not available online  
EB: good luck!  
TG: thanks man  


\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] --

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 4:30 --

TG: hey rose  
TT: What is it Dave?  
TG: shit this is gonna be hard to say  
TG: well i was talking to john  
TG: about some stuff  
TG: and i was thinking that maybe a session with you would help me a bit  
TT: Well, lucky for you, Dave, I happen to be in Texas with a client today.  
TG: really  
TG: you arent pulling my leg  
TT: Not at all.  
TT: I’m in Austin until 2 pm, so I can maybe get there by 5:30.  
TT: If that’s ok with you.  
TG: yeah sure  
TG: i live in the apartment building right off of smith street  
TG: number 206  
TT: Alright, I’ll see you then.  


\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

Five o’clock came around, and Dave was downing a glass of apple juice. He looked across the kitchen at the microwave clock and realized what time it was. He never got dressed, so he dropped the glass into the sink, where it unknowingly chipped against the metal walls, and ran to his room. He grabbed a pair of jeans out of his closet and pulled them on, then dug through his drawers to find a t-shirt. The one he pulled out was a deep burgundy red, and had white text on it. It read “My Memes Are Ironic, My Depression Is Chronic” across the front. Fitting for today's occasion, he thought to himself as he quickly removed his shades and put the shirt on. He put his shades back on, brushed his curly blonde hair out of his face, and slouched on the couch in the living room, waiting for time to pass as he fiddled on his phone. He noticed that pesterchum had a notification on it, and opened the app to reveal John was pestering him.

\-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 5:10 --

EB: hey!  
EB: you never responded to me earlier, so i wanted to check that everything’s ok  
TG: oh  
TG: its cool  
TG: rose is in town and shes coming over in 50 minutes  
TG: besides that its been sbahj time all day  
TG: gotta get that sweet comic money  
EB: nice!  
EB: it’s super convenient that she’s in town  
TG: i know right  
EB: anything you need to say to your best bro before you talk to her?  
TG: i just hope that i dont overwhelm her  
TG: i know shes used to it but i have so much shit to say  
TG: i know she had to deal with her mom but its not the same  
EB: well don’t worry!  
EB: i’ confident you’ll be able to do this  
TG: oh shit shes here  
TG: thanks for the support man  
EB: no problem!  


\-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] --

Dave stood up from the couch and buzzed Rose in. He stood outside the door and watched her climb up the stairs, the sun from the windows glistening on her bronze skin, and her curly hair bounced with each step. She made her way up and greeted Dave. “Thanks for coming,” he said.  
  
“It’s no problem,” she replied. “I had nothing planned for the night anyway.” Dave opened the door and let her in, and followed behind her. Rose stood in the family room, surveying the couch as Dave went to get his wheeled chair from his bedroom. He wheeled it near the couch, and motioned for her to sit, and he jumped onto the couch and laid down across it. “Guess I’ll make it like a typical shrink visit, like I’ve ever been to one,” he remarked as he placed a pillow under his head. Rose took a notepad and pen out of her messenger bag and opened to a clean page.  
  
“So, what’s going on,” she asked. “You weren’t very clean when you pestered me at four in the morning, nor do I remember something from that early.”  
  
Dave sighed. “I probably mentioned it in passing, but Bro was pretty bad to me when we lived together.”  
  
Rose wrote in her pad. “Yes, you mentioned it every so often, but never went into detail.”  
  
Dave continued as Rose wrote notes of what he said. “Well,” he said with hesitation, struggling to recall the memories, “He’d fight me on the rooftop and torment me with those stupid sex puppets. Smuppets, he’d call them.”  
  
Rose looked up briefly. “What’d he do with these ‘smuppets’?”  
  
“Well, he had this weird porn site, and he’d use them to make money. Sometimes he’d record me as I was barraged with them. It was sick. And not in the good way.” Dave bit his lip, trying to forget the memories that were flooding back.  
  
“Mhm,” Rose mumbled. “I did have my own struggles with my guardian - my mother, but it was much different that yours. Not as severe, harmful, or illegal. I won’t go into it now, it’s time to talk about you.”  
  
“No, it’s cool,” Dave replied. “Say whatever you need to. I need a break from talking anyway.”  
  
“If you insist,” Rose said, putting away her notepad. She crossed her legs on the chair and leaned back. “My mother and I had our … differences. As a child, I thought her gifts to me, such as a pony and wizard chachkies, were meant to mock me, and we were distant. It wasn’t until after she passed when I truly realized she had good intentions.” She sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could do it over again and see how different things would’ve turned out.”  
  
Rose looked out the window and into the distance, thinking about what she said. It wasn’t until Dave broke the silence with a cough when she came to her senses. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She gathered herself and took out her notepad. “This is about you, not me. You mentioned fights on the rooftop didn’t you?” She took a deep breath, trying to concentrate.  
  
Dave looked at Rose before answering, sliding down his shades so they could look eye to eye. “Rose, you clearly have some shit you gotta talk about. Let it all out.”  
Rose shuddered and swallowed. “Alright, but excuse me for a moment. I’ll need some tissues.” She got up and walked to the bathroom, and came back in a couple minutes with a handful of tissues.  
  
“There’s more to it as well. I knew she was an alcoholic, and I tried drinking to see if I could connect with her. I fell into a pit of drinking and despair, and I ruined the lives of those around me.” She took a tissue to her eyes and dabbed at the tears coming down. “I never thought it could go so wrong. Luckily Kanaya was there to help me out of it.” Her own mother died when she was 13, and didn’t know her well either, so she helped me through it.” Her tears came down faster and faster, and her voice was wavering. “I’ve just never opened up to anyone else about it. I do all of the helping, and I rarely get the help.” She broke down and started crying into her hands. Dave stood up and walked over to her.  
  
“You’re my sister,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I help you?’ He helped her up and hugged her. “We both have a shit ton of emotional baggage, and now is a good time to get it out.”  
Rose smiled weakly. “I suppose you’re right,” she replied. “We’ve both been through a lot. I guess we’re more alike than we thought.”  
  
“Like brother, like sister, I guess you could say,” Dave said.  
  
“Yes,” Rose replied. “Like brother, like sister.”


End file.
